NASA - MISSION PROTOTYPE

Mission Prototype - The Ares Rocket Launches The 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket, was developed by NASA as a prototype for future missions intended to bring humans beyond Earth orbit.

Mission Prototype - The Ares Rocket Launches The rocket is part of a family of rockets in NASA's Constellation program, started in 2005 by President George W. Bush to go to Mars or the moon. It will also be equipped to fill in for the current aging Space Shuttle.

Mission Prototype - The Ares Rocket Launches NASA workers make pre-launch preparations on launch pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Mission Prototype - The Ares Rocket Launches NASA's test called for the pencil-thin, extremely tall dummy version of the rocket to rise into the sky for just minutes before falling back to Earth.

Mission Prototype - The Ares Rocket Launches Despite spending $445 million on the test flight, experts say that NASA needs another $3 billion a year to pursue meaningful human space exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Even NASA's most ardent supporters in Congress acknowledge that additional funding will be hard to come by.

Mission Prototype - The Ares Rocket Launches Ares I-X took advantage of a clearing in a partly cloudy sky to lift off at 11:30 a.m., just 30 minutes before the launch window closed.

Mission Prototype - The Ares Rocket Launches A cone of moisture known as a Prandtl-Glauert singularity surrounds the top of the rocket as it travels at supersonic speeds. Edward J. Mango, the launching director, complimented his team afterwards on a "fantastic" job.